Brisbane heat to hit 38 and feel like 40

Brisbane residents are sweating their way towards 38 degrees, but when the mercury gets there it's going to feel more like 40C - or worse.

The Bureau of Meteorology has raised its forecast for Brisbane's top temperature by one degree, as large swathes of the state deal with high humidity and temperatures that are eight to nine degrees above the February average.

Brisbane residents are sweating their way towards 38 degrees, but when the mercury gets there it's going to feel more like 40C - or worse.

Photo: Leigh Henningham

"The apparent temperature is going to be pushing up around the 40 mark," bureau spokesman Jess Carey said.

He said an upper-level low in country NSW had drawn hot air down from the tropics, and inland communities such as Birdsville were experiencing unusually high humidity but without any of the rain that might take the edge off the pain.

Birdsville is expected to be the hottest place in the state on Wednesday, as it heads for 41C.

The night manager at the Birdsville Hotel, who likes to be known as Joe, said a stiff wind was helping locals cope.

"Thank God for it really, it'd be pretty unbearable otherwise," he said.

He said visitors who'd come to see water flowing towards Lake Eyre were shocked by how hot it had been.

Ipswich, west of Brisbane, is also heading for 38C, while the Gold and Sunshine coasts are expecting 37C.

But there's some good news for the southeast corner, though Birdsville temperatures will remain in the high 30s for the rest of the week.

A cool change on Wednesday is expected to bring temperatures in the southeast down to around 30C.

Energex, which services the southeast, says a power-consumption record could be set on Tuesday, as people switch on their air-conditioners.

On Tuesday morning, power use was already very high and a spokesman said it could climb beyond the 47600-megawatt record, set in the summer of 2009/10.

Health authorities are advising people to stay out of the sun if they can, drink plenty of water, and keep a close watch on the elderly and children.